The purpose of the Hisatlas is to illustrate the concept of the political boundary with a comprehensive selection of political and historical maps from 1789, and occasionally from earlier dates, to the present day. The maps are clearly organized by region and dates. Most of them are in Spanish but this should not pose an obstacle to those used to reading maps.
A thorough understanding of frontier politics may be obtained through a careful review of frontier changes through time. I have prepared 220 political maps - some of which may subdivided or merged with others - and recorded some 3,000 historical dates pertaining to close to 1,000 political units.
The collection begins in 1789, although, in the cases of the Swiss Confederacy and the Low Countries the date is somewhat earlier, and shows the changes and evolution of political borders worldwide since the inception of the concept of state. The maps take into account territorial changes and the different systems of government established in different corners of the world during the modern period. Each map includes notations as to dates and other information provided in it. Every effort has been made to preserve objectiveness and thus I have refrained from comments and explanations. Oftentimes, a map can be far more eloquent than the written word.
The format followed in this Historical Atlas is explained in the introduction, which, at the present time, is available only in Spanish. It provides useful information as to the table of contents and cartographical bibliography. I have endeavored to dispense with many of the inaccuracies and much of the clutter that, in my opinion, often render other atlases tedious and untrustworthy.
The goal of this project is to provide a definitive world atlas of political geography. Or, since the nation-state is undoubtedly the leading actor in the contemporary world, it could also be described as an Atlas of Nationalism.
Joaquín de Salas Vara de Rey